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Racism and homophobia in British football

Footballer Jason Roberts: I’ve had monkey chants in the past few years

2 March 2014

The former Premier League striker Jason Roberts says he has been a victim of racism throughout his career. In an interview for Channel 4’s Dispatches, he says he has had monkey chants directed at him in the last two or three years. Dispatches: Hate on the Terraces airs on Monday at 8pm on Channel 4.

Racist, homophobic and antisemitic abuse recorded at grounds, and many black players subjected to racist remarks on Twitter

Matthew Taylor

Sunday 2 March 2014 19.33 GMT

Racist, homophobic and antisemitic abuse is commonplace among supporters at some of the biggest football clubs in England, according to an undercover investigation.

Researchers for Channel 4’s Dispatches programme recorded secret footage showing that despite repeated attempts by the authorities to clamp down, offensive chants and abuse are still a regular feature on the terraces.

The programme to be aired on Monday shows West Ham fans chanting antisemitic and racist slogans before a game against Tottenham Hotspur in December as well as several incidents of homophobic chanting at games involving Brighton.

It also reveals that at least 40% of the 150 black Premiership players have been subjected to some racist remarks on Twitter over the last two years.

In Dispatches, Jason Roberts, who has played for a number of Premier League and Championship clubs, says he regularly encounters racist abuse.

Roberts says: “I’ve had it from people in the street, I’ve had it from teammates, I’ve had it from managers, I’ve had it from coaches, I’ve had it from crowds. I have had monkey chants in the last two, three years.”

He said people were aware of which clubs were the worst but not enough was being done. “I can tell you at certain clubs, certain places … exactly where in a crowd you’re going to get racial abuse from. It’s been the same when I started and it’ll be the same now.”

Last year the police and the Crown Prosecution Service, backed by the Football Association, promised to tackle “… all forms of abuse in football, be it in the stands, or on our computer screens”.

But the undercover reporters exposed a catalogue of abuse, including antisemitic chanting by Chelsea fans targeting Tottenham’s Jewish links, antisemitic chanting at fixtures between West Ham and Tottenham, several incidents of racist and Islamophobic chanting by Millwall fans at an away match at Leicester, and homophobic chanting at games involving Brighton.

Andy Holt, of South Yorkshire police, acknowledged that part of the problem was a failure to report or act on abuse by police and stewards. “I think it’s a more common problem, because of under-reporting, than the statistics would indicate … I think there’s potentially under-reporting by police officers and by clubs.”

A spokesman for the Football League said it, along with the clubs, was “fully committed to tackling discrimination, in whatever form it may occur”. He added: “We will continue to work with the police to prevent football being used as a platform by those holding views that are completely unacceptable.”

The Premier League says it is committed to eradicating discrimination. Darren Bailey, FA director of governance and regulation, said: “They [the football clubs] understand that this affects their business, they understand that it affects their brand, they understand it affects their club and they want to do something about it.”

He added: “We have to continue to squeeze out those … incidents wherever we’re able to do so. We can only do this collectively. So we need the work of the police, we need the work of the Crown Prosecution Service, we need the work of the judiciary.”